Tired of Tires

We are no longer buying cheap tires! For the last 10 years or so, I have been rolling on whatever Discount Tires had on sale. Usually their own brand of tire. I don't really care. Very little of my self-image is wrapped up in the tires on my minivan.

But in the last two years, I have had three sets of tires on the van. Of the two sets I have most recently replaced, one tire had a blowout at highway speed. Three tires had tread separation and two had bad sidewalls. All were covered with a replacement/road hazard warranty. Out of 12 tires, we paid for the first four and two others along the way. A pretty cheap way to stay in cheap tires.

And today, while changing the oil on The Boss Lady's car, I noticed one of her tires had a large bulge on the sidewall. Then I remembered that two of THESE tires had been already replaced under a warranty claim, last year.

I did not want to head to Discount Tires for new rubber, but I knew they would at least give me some credit for the bad tire. So, after making calls, to compare prices at other stores, I ended there, anyways.

But now, The Boss Lady is riding like a queen. On Goodyears. Yep, her Escort is sitting on NASCAR rubber, now! They laughed at me when I relayed my tales of tire woe. But then they replaced the bad tire and knocked a good chunk off of the total bill to "keep a good customer happy...".

"Good customer"? Me? I feel so honored. Who knew it would only take 22 tires, in 3 years, for me to go from a "cheap s.o.b." to a "good customer"?